


Sixteen

by TheWorkoftheHeart



Series: Papa Zeff and the Little Eggplant [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Birthday Presents, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Sanji Is Not A Vinsmoke, Smoking, Teenage Sanji, Trans!Sanji
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:49:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23805616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWorkoftheHeart/pseuds/TheWorkoftheHeart
Summary: Zeff could mull over memories forever of the scrawny little boy whose life he saved that day, could count the knife ridges in his doorway from every birthday that documented how tall he was getting, could look at Sanji from an outsider’s perspective and come to assumptions all he wanted. However, nothing he could do made Sanji feel sixteen.
Series: Papa Zeff and the Little Eggplant [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715152
Comments: 8
Kudos: 130





	Sixteen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [my bro](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=my+bro).



Sixteen. Sanji was going to be sixteen. 

Zeff could mull over memories forever of the scrawny little boy whose life he saved that day, could count the knife ridges in his doorway from every birthday that documented how tall he was getting, could look at Sanji from an outsider’s perspective and come to assumptions all he wanted. However, nothing he could do made Sanji feel sixteen. 

Birthdays were a little strange when the boy was added onto their crew. Too young to party like the other seasoned sailors, they worked around the unrulier side of festivities, making him his favorite foods, letting him drink some of the fine wines (but not all of them, Zeff would constantly warn, we serve the Marines here and they’ll throw fits without the best). Presents, if possible, were given, but this wasn’t often. Sanji never really wanted anything. 

Until he got older. The other crewmen noticed him grow and change easier than Zeff did, too focused on running a restaurant and ensuring Sanji was healthy and learning valuable lessons. 

“A binder,” Patty told Zeff one day, but his tone was inquisitive, “Sanji said he wanted one. Got no idea what that could be, though.”

As a pirate, Zeff had seen many a sailor, so the idea of binding wasn’t unusual to him. Typically, though, they’d use bandages— considering some of the chefs’ clumsiness and the dwindling amount of gauze left behind, however, this wasn’t an option. Hell, Zeff didn’t even know there was an alternative. 

It cost a hefty amount, more beri than Zeff had been initially ready to spend on the rowdy little eggplant. But deep down, he knew it was important to Sanji. The kid never asked for anything for his birthdays, so to suddenly have a request meant it had to be important. 

Zeff sighed. He took the wrapped gift and gripped it firmly, grabbing his crutches and exiting his room. It was late enough that almost everyone was asleep, so no one was alerted to the noise as Zeff made it to Sanji’s door. He cracked it open slowly, peering in. 

“Hey, Shit-Geezer,” came Sanji’s familiar voice in the darkness. There was a flick of a lighter as he ignited a candle wick, and then pulled out two cigarettes— one for himself, and one for Zeff.

“Watch your mouth, Baby Eggplant,” Zeff remarked in return. He shut the door behind him as he went to Sanji’s desk, straddling a chair to face the boy where he sat on his bed. He gladly took the cigarette, placing the gift down on the desk. “So you’re sixteen now, is that right?”

An exhale of smoke, a passing of the lighter. “Yep. Just like how I was fifteen last year. Still fifteen, technically. The day’s not changed yet.”

“Ah, that doesn’t matter.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

None of them spoke for a minute or two. A lot of their bonding time was spent this way, just silent moments in each other’s company. To most it wasn’t much, but it meant the world to the two of them (though they’d never admit it). 

“I, uh... I figured I’d give you your present early,” Zeff finally said. Sanji cocked an eyebrow at him. 

“You got me something?”

“The whole crew did, yes. You asked for somethin’ this year, we figured we’d... do our best.”

Sanji nodded, though he obviously didn’t expect them to have gotten him what he asked for. “You don’t want to wait?”

“We figured you’d like it better if you got to utilize it first thing tomorrow instead of getting it halfway.”

Sanji gave a subtle nod. Made sense. 

Zeff grabbed the package, holding it out to Sanji carefully, angling it away from either of their cigarettes. Sanji put his between his teeth as he shot a questioning look to Zeff. 

“Open it, don’t make me get more damn grey hairs than I already do dealin’ with you.”

Sanji chuckled a little. He carefully tore the packaging open, removing the soft cover holding his gift inside and... 

It was a binder. An actual, real binder. He knew exactly what they looked like and had a basic idea of how exactly they felt, but seeing it in person, feeling it in his hands? It was so much different. 

Zeff smirked a little, but quickly masked it. “Now stop usin’ our bandages, you hear? They’re for first aid.”

Sanji nodded, wiping tears eyes as he got up, hugging Zeff in silence. Zeff wasn’t much of a hugger, but he wrapped an arm around him. 

“Happy early birthday, Eggplant.”


End file.
